Presidential campaign announcements in the United States

A campaign announcement is the formal public launch of a political campaign, often delivered in a speech by the candidate at a political rally.

Formal campaign announcements play an important role in United States presidential elections, particularly in shaping the start of a campaign season. They became more significant with the introduction of presidential primaries (as opposed to state caucuses) in the early 20th century. The expression to "throw one's hat in the ring", describing a challenger in boxing, was popularized by the Theodore Roosevelt 1912 presidential campaign. There has been a trend of announcements coming earlier, and even being preceded by an invisible primary phase and often as a first public step by an exploratory committee.

A pledge to not run, the opposite of a campaign announcement, is known as a Shermanesque statement.